Derbyshire children’s happy holiday faces inspire legal firm in £2,500 donation to charity

East Midlands law firm Rotheras Solicitors LLP, whose Derby office is based on Amen Alley next to Derby Cathedral, has made a donation of £2,500 to the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre.

The charity provides five day stays at its holiday centre in Skegness to hundreds of children across Derbyshire who meet the nomination criteria through financial hardship, and other reasons, such as caring for relatives.

Angie Thompson, office manager at the Rotheras Derby office, said she was moved to nominate the charity for a donation after seeing how happy the children were as they embarked on a holiday centre trip from the Bonnie Prince Charlie statue at The Old Silk Mill. From this location, a branded Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre bus takes a group of children to Skegness every Monday between March and October and brings them back again on Friday.

Angie said: “The Rotheras charity fund was set up to ensure we can award donations to independent charities that make a big difference to people’s lives in our local community. I suggested the DCHC to be considered for a donation as I’ve long been aware of this charity and have always admired the cause.

Our branch office is just a short walk from the meeting and drop off point and I often walk past the children as they are waiting excitedly to start their week’s adventure – it is such a joyful sight!

It’s fantastic that the charity provides a much-needed holiday to children who might not otherwise get a break. Spending a few days away where the children can make new friends and lifetime memories is so important.

All credit to the volunteers and organisers at the holiday centre who work hard to make this possible.”

Alan Grimadell, chair of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, said: “Many thanks to Rotheras for this fantastic donation. It is paying for a much-needed new gazebo for our hard-working volunteers who are always out and about at fundraising events, raising our profile and boosting our funds. We rely entirely on fundraising and donations and every penny is put to good use. The donation from Rotheras will also enable us to put more smiles on the faces of children so they too can benefit from a much-needed stay by the seaside.

“It’s great that just the sight of busloads of children arriving and returning from their stay in Skegness has prompted this generous donation from Rotheras.”

The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has been going for 132 years having been started in 1891 by Victorian benefactors Arnold Bemrose and Harry Sykes. All these years later, the need to provide seaside breaks for Derbyshire children is as great as it ever was. It has recently welcomed a new trustee, former Derby city councillor Ross McCristal.

The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre would always appreciate donations to help keep its vital work alive. With a million people living in Derbyshire, the charity’s plea is for people to be ‘One in a Million’, donating £4 a month by texting DCHCMILLION to 70085.